


Don't Freeze Together

by CactusGeuse



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Animal Death, Awkward Meetings, Death, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Mild Gore, No Romance, Survival, Survival Horror, Wilderness Survival, more character or tags to be added depending how this goes, or planned at least, you could kinda self insert but its a pov of a woman oc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CactusGeuse/pseuds/CactusGeuse
Summary: You never expect to suddenly find yourself thrust out in the wilderness, no civilization or hope for rescue.How does anyone adapt to that?Well in this story a young woman finds herself in such a situation, will she manage and fight for her survival?Or succumb to the cold and hunger gnawing at her guts.(more characters are to be potentially added)





	1. Chapter 1 The Interloper

Chapter 1: The Interloper

The sun sets quickly in the winter, making daylight a tight schedule. Makes you hurry, it helps fight away the chill in the end as the work warms the muscle and bones. On the windiest of days the brisk air is too biting to ignore and a means of insulation is needed. Resorted to stuffing under my layers, with dry grasses and fur. It helps but it's certainly not perfect. The wind howls more often the deeper into winter it gets and the days of the Autumn chill are a wish.

Just a wish.

As the days get colder, the nights unforgiving as you shiver through them much too worried of freezing to get any rest. Fearing the cold dark, it reaching to join you in bed, hold you and slough the heat from you. Leech the life from your flesh as you slip into a crisp and final rest. So you’ll stay awake, shivering and brushing off the cold embrace the best of your ability till the warm sun peaks back around to check on you. The sun's gaze keeps the colds touch faint, and brushing so you need not worry working in the light.  
Work till you ache, the nerve receptors burning, keeps you warm when the sun leaves again. Like a shell of heat just under the skin, don’t burn yourself out though, never. Doing such is death, you’ll be harmed, and you need to have energy for the next day. Need energy to be ready for the dangers lurking in the dark, they seek the warmth of your flesh just as much as the cold in the air to feed their slobbering maws.

It’s what I’ve come to know, the winter has been long and only getting colder. I’ve been long lost, alone and with only the clothes on my back. I was dressed lightly, jeans, silk shirt and a thin airy jacket. No clue how I got here or where here even is, spent a few precious days waiting. Just keeping warm and waiting for someone to find me, like as if I had just wandered off instead of just waking up from home in this unnatural place. I guess it was some sort of denial, or maybe it was just hope that this was all just some crazy dream. I finally snapped out of the fallacy when the puffy pain of my feet made me well aware of my dehydration.  
I wandered through the orange and yellow trees, the leaves were starting to fall and carpeted the floor with vibrant warm colors. A contrast to the biting cold of the air as I tucked my limbs close and searched for a means of water, listening for a babble of a brook or a crashing of a waterfall. I found neither, but by luck, or sick merciless fate disguised as such what have you.

It rained.

I felt such immense relief despite it drenching me to the bone, I did what I could to drink from the leaves and the squeezings of my jackets sleeves. I knew from idle curiosity when I was still safe in the comfort of home with access to information, that if lost in the wild your most important goal besides water is shelter. But not in the form of guarding yourself from the sky, It's the heat soaking floor that you should be worried about. So I gathered what I could from the environment around me, leaves, grass, sticks, all in a pile to keep distant from its touch.  
I continued to trudge on from that, through the whole fall season I gained my bearing and tested the waters so to say. There's only so much you can do when you know nothing of the area or its flora. There's bushes bearing fruit, their bright colors made me wary but having no choice I tested a leaf and a berry under my tongue and waited. I decided it was safe as there was no changes to my health and from then on I had a food source. It certainly wasn’t enough, I had managed to light a fire and decided I needed to take a life to preserve my own. This task was the hardest I’ve done, not for the sake of the critters life, but for the fact that I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I had seen a few deer and among other things that I questioned my health if I ever did attempt to eat them.  
I happened across a clearing, grass grew tall here and in the patches where it didn’t, I saw little holes dotted about. I took a seat and watched for a good few hours, and to my elation a little rodent with a wiggling nose and pointed up ears popped up from a hole. I had discovered rabbits! Or at least I think they’re rabbits, they have odd little curled horns atop their fuzzy little heads. Like some different rendition of a jackalope or something, I didn’t try to think too hard about it. I was thankful that the weather was cooling as I’ve heard they have worrisome fur parasites in the summer. Finding them was one thing, catching them was another. It took days of frustration and tears before I finally snagged one in a basic slipknot trap, I heard it screaming as I approached that day. I hadn’t buried the stick deep enough and it was caught trying to hide in its burrow, the twine tight around its midsection as I saw when I grabbed the stick and carefully yanked it from its home. I watched myself around its claws but I didn’t know what to do, finally I pushed it down and placed the stick behind its neck and stood on it for leverage before gripping its legs and yanking up. The first attempt I didn’t yank hard enough, but the second time I did. The creature ceased its movements as its cerebral vertebrae crack under the force and I plopped down, feeling shaky, tears in the corners of my eyes. It was a lot harder than I expected it to be, guilt and relief washed over me in a wave but I swallowed it all down and took my dinner.

I’m swift with them now.

It took some thought but with a flat stone I figured out how to skin and clean it before setting up a makeshift spit and stick the meat to it. I make a quick trip to a stream I had finally tracked down a week or two prior and cleaned the hide the best I could before returning to make sure my rabbit hadn’t burned. I tried my best to think how to cure out rabbit hide, I decided the water needed to come out but not wanting to tear it I place it between two large rocks and sat on it while cooking. I sharpened a stick on the edge of the stone to use it to poke and prod at the meat to check its cooking process, when I felt confident in it I pulled it from the fire and set to slowly picking off flakes of meat and tasted it. The fire gives it a smoky and charred taste but its palatable nonetheless, in fact I had to hold back from just digging in. If I had just allowed myself to gorge the sudden change in diet would make me sick, I had already felt my stomach clenching sharply from the acids being produced to help break down the sinewy meal.  
I took time and finished my meal, happy with my stomach finally full after so long and I slept deeply when the fire died out to glowing cinders. In the morning I woke feeling relatively better and was ready to figure out the puzzle with the hide. I removed the stone and patted it, much drier now I think it over before carefully stretching it and using heavy stones to hold it and then taking a smooth stone and rolling it over top, squeezing as much moisture from it as I could. It took a long time and I had to leave it alone to dry longer, I spend the rest of the day gathering berries and making traps. I watched the rabbits and deer while I did, watching what they ate and what they passed over. Doing so I discovered carrots, I memorized their leaves and flowers and I finally had a decent circle of nutrition.

Until winter hit.

I did well for the most part, I got better with the hide and I learned to use reeds to makeshift stitch them into a sleeping bag or lining in my hood. I was absolutely floored when the first snow fell, I didn’t want to believe how long I had been hoofing out in the woods. I tried to reason that maybe it’s just colder where I’m at, honestly that thought should have scared me more than how long I’d been here, but I measured up the days and had to admit to the truth. I was here for a long time, and rescue was not going to happen anytime soon. I didn’t know what to think, I was depressed. I started to feel hopeless, cold, lost. Alone.  
The only thing that drove me to continue was that maybe, just maybe tomorrow I might be discovered, that if I give up now than everything I’ve fought for up to this point was for nothing and help could be right around the corner in the most ironic sense just as I would breathe my last breath. So I trudged on, harder, determined to not let this world get the better of me. I scouted out further, making landmarks as to not get lost, and I discovered large beasts! Huge and fluffy bison like cattle. I was amazed by the hulking figures, nothing I’d ever seen before that's for certain. I carefully approached as I didn’t wish to end my efforts with being gored by and angry bull, they seemed only curious in my intentions as I stood only close enough to get a good look out the corner of my eye, not wanting to seem threatening that is. They quickly got back to grazing though and I twisted to get a good look, their fluffy wool stood out with a soft looking sheen.  
I had returned not long after and in my “camp” I carved symbols on trees in the general direction of landmarks so just in case some odd case I got turned around or confused I could look at the symbols and reorient myself. That left me to my regular routine, winter is officially here as even in the day the snow has ceased melting away completely leaving the ground cold and plant life barren. Some bushes still bare fruit, their production though is slow though to the point that they are unreliable. I’m forced to hunting more, and even going hungry some nights.

Very hungry.

It was turning dusk, I had just returned from the rabbit grounds with a successful catch when I heard it. A deep and resounding snarl, it was like a bark but… It had unnatural qualities to it, qualities that sent a ghostly chill up my spine. I’m thankful to of heard it in time, my reaction was immediate and instinctual. I tossed the rabbit as far as I could from my camp and went the opposite direction and started to scramble up a tree as fast and as high as I could manage, I chose a pine as it seemed like the best coverage and the branches and needles scratching and tearing at my skin and clothing. Once I felt confident in my height and visibility I held as still as I could, in the close distance, from where I tossed the rabbit I heard it. The snarling, a deep resounding bark and what sounded like a skirmish and the cracking of sticks or bones.  
In this moment I had a realization, If the buffalo were so large but not so abundant, what was eating them? The thought that something could be so large and ravenous to feast on such behemoths frightened me immensely as bit my lip to keep from a distraught sob and just waited for them to leave. A few times they came close, inspecting the area quite thoroughly. Finally after the sun had set, and it was pitch black I heard a pause in their search and then one went insane with loud barks as if hearing or seeing something and the rest joined in, all scrambling across the forest floor in pursuit. Only when silence had settled for a good ten minutes did I slowly slide down and look around, It was horribly dark.  
Tears streamed down my cheeks but I tried my best to find my way back, feeling around in the snow for my foot prints. As I did I had to pause as my hand brushed a strange dent in the snow, I decided it was best to not get distracted and I made it back to camp after a good long trek to make sure I wasn’t just wandering off to my death. I bundled up in my bed, shivering and hungry.

I didn’t sleep that night.

When the sun finally rose my catch was nowhere to be seen, not even blood. My heart caught in my throat when I finally got a good look at the snow and saw paw prints, giant wolf like paw prints and a lot of them. Since then I’ve been far more wary, and slow. I don’t know where they had gone but I know they are around, somewhere.  
This is where I am, the months I’ve been here have been arduous, I’m only getting colder and hungrier. I’ve made a decision however, with all that I’ve done, I either risk starving and freezing to death, or being stomped in by buffalo. Neither are the most elegant of deaths but I have a decision to make, and I choose the one that means more time, given I survive. With my mind settled I start making a weapon by grabbing a rock and setting to breaking off a nice sturdy branch, it takes a good effort but soon I’m tugging and twisting at the branch in order to snap it free. I then stab and wrench at the end of it, making a sort of pronged and flayed out shape as I then take a chunk of flint that I’ve been using to light my fires and grind it to a spear like shape. I then hammer it into the prongs before using stripped reeds to tie it into place and looping it around just above where the flint is its fattest. I tap and wiggle at it just to be sure it's secure and then set to sharpening it with a stone.  
This takes most of the day and I just have enough time to check my traps and make it back before the sun is set and the dark settles overhead again. I managed to make a catch today, I clean and prep the rabbit for cooking. I’m thankful as I’ll need all the energy I can muster for tomorrow and my seemingly suicidal mission. I eat and settle down for the night, the wind has settled making me more confident in sleeping and my eyes flicker shut.

When my eyes open again my teeth are chattering and my nose feels frigid and burns with each exhale, I realize it's from my makeshift tarp I made out of pine branches. It had caved in under snow and i'm surrounded in the powdery ice. I scramble to my feet and am quick to rub at my limbs and start my fire again to warm back up before hypothermia sets in. It’s a daunting task with stiff icy fingers but I get it done and nestle down next to the flickering flames.  
The sun is just starting to peak over the mountains, lighting the sky up brighter. I’m glad up until that damn wind picks up again, whipping my hood off and stinging my face making me gasp and tug the fluff filled article back on. I quiver as I stave off the urge to add more to the flames, I need it to die down in order for me to leave as I’ll need as much time as I can get if I’m going to transport as much meat and fur as I can before night fall.  
The fire sizzles down to charred wood and a stream of white smoke wafting up to the air, I stand and trudge my way through the still thickening snow. The wind is lashing across my face like a cold whip, making my eyes sting and water. It takes longer than anticipated to get to the clearing as I had to keep stopping to double check I didn’t get turned around by the blurriness of my eyes and the rolling of the snow. But finally I made it, and I see them, all huddled together and nudging their large snouts through the snow in attempts to pull free the vegetation that lay dormant underneath its blanket. Kneeling quickly I try to keep from sight, my face is burning and raw from the air rushing into the open clearing, it’s started to snow making a light blizzard. I can’t tell if this is a bad thing, or perhaps a means of disguise for me to get the drop on one.  
I take a moment to observe the herd, a soft crunch from my right makes me snap in that direction. I have to squint my eyes in order to keep the flecks of snow from blinding me when I pick up a figure near the treeline, I approach cautiously and realize a cow had wandered a bit away from the herd. If not for the light blizzard, she’d be just within eyesight of them but the snow keeps her blanketed from the rest. It’s absolutely perfect. I look around the trees before remembering something, a deep pond is nearby, one I nearly fell into once before. If I can get her caught trying to drag herself out of it I can land a hit into her neck and she’d bleed out long before she could manage to trample me. With a deep breath to solidify my resolve I pull a large wad of warm dry grass from under my jacket and creep around to and angle where she’ll see me. With a deep moo she lifts her head to attention and I wave the grass out to her making gentle clicking sounds.  
“Here girl, come get some warm grass. That’s it, this way,” I coo nervously as she follows me into the woods, we are close and she is nearing me more and more with each step. These beasts are just ginormous, I’ve never seen such an animal be so big before. A worrying crunch underfoot tells me I’ve made it to my destination, I take careful steps back as I don’t want to slip on the ice or fall in it myself. My foot meets the snow of the other side and I stop and stand securely, the cow lumbers up, her stone solid hoof hitting the ice and making it splinter in webs. She reaches my hand and receives her treat, my brows pinch as my expression softens but in no time I’m readying my spear as the ice creaks and caves in with a splash. She lets out a deep and alarmed bellow and I brace myself as I twist the spear in my hands and slam its point down hard into her throat. It punctures her jugular, I can tell as when she lets out a loud and angry wail it’s bubbly and wet. I yank the spear free with a spray of hot red fluids.  
I’m forced to scramble back as she slams herself up on the bank of the pond, my ass meets the cold snow floor as she gets out far quicker than I thought and I point my spear up. To my relief she falters after the exertion of yanking herself free and she wobbles before collapsing into a heap. It takes a moment before her breathing stills and I’m met with silence.

I gather myself and breathe before standing and walking over to the large beast, I wonder how I’m going to get this all back and I decide its best to start one bite at a time. Taking the sharp stone from my pocket I kneel down and hefts a meaty leg from my way before stopping completely when my hand touches the belly of the beast and meets ice cold, wet fur.  
“Dammit, I didn’t think that through.” I groan rubbing my brow before sucking it up and digging the stone right into the gut. It takes some work but I manage to break skin and muscle with enough force. I work in favor of speed rather than care once I’m past the part with the delicate insides as any wrong move and I could be splattered with cow waste. Literal bullshit. I chuckle to myself as I work the meat off the ribs and yank it back. I’ve sadly concluded that with the hulking size of the cow, I won’t be getting a full pelt to take back but it should be enough to bundle up in, the birds can have at the rest.  
The wind has lifted long into my efforts and by the time I’m finishing up the sky is painted with the dying glow of the sun as the wispy smoke of the night rises. I wipe my brow and fan myself off, the work built up quite the sweat and the body stayed rather hot for a long time. I wrap what meat I can up in the skin, and drape the fur from the neck over my shoulders before gripping it tight and dragging it home. Once back I start the task of preserving the meat, I use stones and compacted snow to make a makeshift fridge until I can dry them in the morning. I then take a hunk of it and start getting the fire prepared and hot, to the side I place a flat stone to use for frying up the slab and while that heats I find a way to pin up the hide and use chunks of snow to rub it clean.  
I line my clothes with what fur I stripped off without the skin and cook the meat before chowing down. It’s bliss once my teeth sink in and I savor every bite till I finish, the cow gave me a lot in turn for her life and I feel my mood lift with my hope. My skills are getting better and better, and I only hope my day of going home is getting closer and closer as well. Fixing up my bed and making a more sturdy drape I tuck in for the night. What wool I could use is already keeping me significantly more warm as well as the full belly, my eyes flutter shut as I succumb to a deep and peaceful sleep.

Waking up is easy for once, feeling fully rested and decently warm as I crawl from my bedding to stand and stretch. The sun has risen quite a bit in the sky, disappointing, I must of been out rather hard. I look over my fire then to where I had been stashing my sticks, the pile is low, rather dangerously so. I roll my eyes at my avoidance of the tedious task of picking around snow for twigs before turning to the hide I makeshift pinned to the tree with its own branches. I feel the underside and its rather dry, enough that I pluck it up off the tree and around my shoulders. The difference in temperature is obvious immediately as the hide is as cold as the winter air, however as I start moving about I feel my body heat insulating perfectly. Leaving me a cozy bundle of warmth in the manner of minutes.  
I start to make my way through the trees, kicking my rabbit fur covered shoes through the snow, grabbing and bundling sticks up in my arms as I make my way around. Taking a moment to catch my breathing and baring I notice I’m rather close to the buffalo clearing, even closer to where I killed the cow. I pet the cloak idly before wondering if I could procure a few more strips of meat and hide, maybe to make some gloves. I make my way to the pond I left her remains by and just as I push through I see her. She looks, different, picked at most definitely. I take a moment to observe her some more before realized just what was off about it. Her horns. I hadn’t touched them, and her they are gone and nowhere to be seen. My eyes skim the snowy floor for any sign of them, he snow must of picked back up a bit or the wind as I don't see much in the way of tracks. But something does catch my eye, a glint makes me do a double take before I slowly approach and kneel down. I lay my stick on my thighs as I reach down and pick the shining object out from the snow and am amazed to find that in my palm is a decent sized lump of what appears... to be pure gold!  
I roll the nugget in my hand a bit, observing its sheen in awe. I blink out of trance as a soft crunch of snow catches my attention, making me lift my head just slightly before a sudden caterwaul and shifting of steps rushing through snow makes me snap my focus up to a figure speeding for me. The figure is humanoid with hair EVERYWHERE and what seems like a stone pick raised up and ready to crack my skull in. It’s face, shrouded from the sun shining from behind it gives it the finished malicious touch that makes me jolt back with a shriek before scrambling back to my feet and as far away from it as I possibly can. I forget about the cloak that fluttered off my shoulders, the shiny piece of gold and even the sticks that are necessary for any sort of fire tonight and just run. I run until my lungs are burning and my legs are numb. Finally I slow enough to lean against and slide down a tree for a rest, spit clings to my chin as I pant and clutch my chest. My chest feels ready to pop with the speed of my heart beat making me swallow and lean back in attempts to even it out.

Just when I thought things were going great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do I indent? :'C


	2. Chapter 2: Perspective of Familiarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new perception of the world gives new perspective and hope.

Chapter 2: Perspective of Familiarity

My frigid fingers carefully twist a wire into place, pinching it carefully into place between two gears. The new machine is near completion, just a few more tweaks here and there and a material for conduction. Sitting back I test my work in progress, a functioning ice box with a metal casting, cooling system and a complete sealing door. Having come across gears lying about on the floor next to the remains of another survivor, or rather non-survivor in this case. Better them than me in the very least, the gear came in handy and they are rather hard to procure in the first place so it was very fortunate for me. I lean to look it all over while fiddling with the collection of thick hair on my jaw, it wont function properly without a good conductor to keep the gears running. Snapping my fingers as I reach into my bag to fish out the item on my mind I pull from it to reveal a shining gold nugget, I smile at its gleam before tugging the sack closer and rifling through it before I wince in realization. I only have one left.  
I had used up most of the gold I had gathered making other machines and tools, I would have had enough if I didn’t use it up with a new binocular goggle experiment. Which turned out really well by the way, I flip said contraption that was mantled on my head down over my eyes. With a few blinks I’m easily seeing the horns of a few beefalo in the distance. I flip it back up with a smirk before tossing the gold up and down in my hand and walking to the other side of my camp where my jerry-built chest lay. I have to carefully pop it open to stow away the gold as the wood is splintery and warped by the snow, I grab out a woven trap and flip it shut with my foot as I past by it. I decide today would be better to obtain some more food before going on the hunt for more gold, I can't finish what I’m building if I starve to death.  
The rabbits were a good distance away, I prioritized the safety in the beefalo being a predator distraction over the extra walk for food. The trip wasn't too long and I look over the large field just as the sun is at its highest, even in winter the grass stands tall and obscures most of the hiding spots the rabbits chose for burrows but a good few are still in open land. I set down my rabbit trap and toss some carrot pieces in it before quickly running away and hiding in the treeline and grass. I watch the hole and trap as I wait for a rabbit to hopefully emurge. The past few weeks it seems like less and less rabbits are appearing, almost like another animal is hunting them or scaring them into their holes for longer. While waiting I pull out a scroll of papyrus from my bag and start making some plans, or ideas really, perhaps something to make rabbit hunting an easier and more fruitful endeavor.  
Getting lost in my scrawling time flies and the only thing that snaps me out of focus is the familiar and shrill shriek of a rabbit. I look up expectantly, only to see my trapped untouched and the screaming seeming to come from the distance. My brows furrow as I carefully roll up the papyrus and stand up slowly as I stash it away. I pass my trap and inch through the grass towards the noise when it suddenly stops. Not knowing its direction anymore or how close I’m getting, I peak my head up above the grass and look around. There’s a figure that just appears to be disappearing into the woods on the far end of the pasture. I flip my distance enhancing spectacles down yet the figure is obscured by the tree too quickly to observe. Pushing them back up and out of the way and head to inspect the area it was in, but the sound of my trap falling and being knocked around causes me to turn heel and check my catch.

I went back to camp once I did, inside was a frail little rabbit, not much meat on its bones. Currently i’m getting what I can from the critter, the meat is stringy and the animal was certainly malnourished. Even when I finish my stomach still rumbles so I take what's left of my berry reserve and wolf it down. The light of the fire makes the snow glisten orange as the sun falls behind the mountains, I take a look at my ice box in progress. Once I get that complete I might as well attempt a beefalo and stock up, that should keep me fed for a long time and the box should keep it all well especially in the winter. Nodding to myself I plan to search for gold tomorrow if the weather fairs well, for now I toss a few pinecones and sticks in the flame before curling up on a straw mat and watching the fire sprinkle its specks into the night sky.  
I awake with with the sun, just as its looming high enough to see properly I start to pack and leave, I don’t want to head out and miss anything on my way. I take a moment to look over my makeshift map and decide it would be best to head around the beefalo pasture as it’s the only place I haven’t really looked. Securing the mantle for my goggles I head on out to find some more gold, my stone pickaxe slung over my shoulder. As I venture out and get to the pinetree forest across the field where the wind is howling. The clouds are bunching up in the sky and it appears to be ready to snow soon. I tempt the idea of heading back but instead, I tighten my grip on my axe and trudge on. This task needs to be completed as soon as it can, I just need one gold for now and I decided it was going to happen today!  
I make my journey, the walk is long and plenty of times I stop to use my goggles to see out between the trees when there’s a break. Time ticks by and it’s already noon by the time a glint catches my eye. I turn my focus right to where I saw the shine and it takes me a moment of shifting around on my heels before I see it again, when I do I all but run to the destination and when I do a large gold vein boulder stands proudly in the light. I gather a few rocks that are sitting around it before setting down my pack and readying my pickaxe, I lick my lips in determination before striking down. The stone cracks and spreads out, flakes of debre dusting the ground with each strike. It’s hard, back breaking labor. But determined to get that gold and finish my contraption I set to it eagerly. The sun is just about descended from view when I stop and gather my earnings. I’m disappointed to find that I didn't find much, the vein was small and the lump I obtained will only just be enough to work. I do pick out some flint and good sized stones and store them away before slinging the pack on my back with a huff and making the trek back to my camp. I use my compass to find where I’m at and I walk in the direction of camp, I come to the beefalo clearing and looking around I notice it did indeed snow.   
I near camp and am at the other side of the clearing when a smell hits me, it’s strong and intermingled with the scent of stagnant water. I turn, curious about the familiar smell, it's only stronger the further I go in the trees. When I make it to a small glade I quickly conclude what the smell was. Before a crushed in pond is a Beefalo turned to its side, mutilated and torn from. The exposed side of the body is picked clean of flesh and fur, its insides now outsides. It’s a grizzly sight yet I couldn’t be more elated. I hurry to approach and am happy to feel a slight bit of warmth from the creatures chest cavity meaning this had to of happened today, maybe even recent. I start to peel and strip as much flesh from its bones, the ones that went untouched were the ones it laid upon but using my pickaxe as a level I manage to lift it up enough to tear enough meat away and sling my bag off in a rush to shove the meat in. Unbeknownst to me, the harsh motion sent a few of the top items flying from the pouch. I pick what I can before the night falls upon me, even managing to pop the horns from its skull. I hurry back to camp and get to starting a fire and preparing for a nice big supper.  
I hum pleasantly, belly full with warm food and eyes droopy from a long day of hard yet successful work. I look at my project before laying down for the night, opting to work on it in the morning when there's light and I’ve had a full night's rest. So I shut my eyes, and drift asleep. My sleep was heavy yet I still rose as the sun did, I brush snow off me and my contraptions and open the chest to fish the gold piece free. I set to work, using the fire to melt and mold the gold to the shapes I need and it was a slow and careful process. I finally use up the chunk and I drag my bag over for the other piece, I shift through rocks and fur, but it’s nowhere to be found. I flip it over and dump out all the contents to still not find the lump of metal anywhere. I put a hand to my temple as I rapidly shake my head in disbelief. I grab what of the beefalo I procured earlier and shove it in the almost functional icebox just to keep it secure and I use the fur to make a short cloak, I then stand up and grab my pickaxe and start to back track. Hoping that maybe I just dropped it nearby, I sift through the snow with my feet as I slowly retrace my steps. I’m careful and desperately searching for the nugget of gold in the cold powder. I get to the glade where the pond and the beefalo was and turn when a figure catches my eye, it’s hunched over and covered in thick, snow covered fur. The creature has a limb stretched out and in its grasp I see a bright glint of gold. I grip my pickaxe tightly, not prepared to let some beast make off with my hard earned material.   
I let out a startling yell and charge at the creature, though I don’t exactly plan on really attacking it, I hoped to at the very LEAST get the thing to drop the gold so I can swipe it and leave. Having never seen such a thing before I don’t quite know if it's dangerous to me or not, it definitely has particularly good hearing as it was already turning to face me before I even got the sound from my lungs, it jumps up quick with a shriek when it turns and locks eyes with me. I’m stunned in place when I recognize its features to be that of a human, making tense to change my posture. Yet before I could even adjust, this new found person twists away sharply, falling into the snow before scrambling up and darting away like a terrorized deer. Left behind and resting in the snow is a bunch of twigs that were sent flying, a large chunk of what I now recognize as Beefalo hide, and my lump of gold.  
I take a few steps in pursuit out of sheer curiosity and concern, but the person is long since gone from my sight. I contemplate following the kicked up snow but decide that would do more harm than good, I instead turn and retrieve my gold material. I pause as I see the cloak lightly flutter as a breeze brushes by and decide to lift it up onto a low hanging branch to keep it from the wet snow, when I step back I flinch as a twig snaps under my foot. I look over the scattered sticks before bending down to gather them up and sitting them just below the tree. Once that’s all done I stand up, sling my pickaxe back on my shoulder and head back to camp, not before peaking back over my shoulder once to make sure they didn’t return at all but I see nothing so I joyously return to finish my project. The world is near silent when I get back, no wind, no birds. Just near absolute silence. I kneel down and get back to making my ice box functional, I remove all the food and even set a strip of meat to cook on a stone after I start a flame to work the metal. It takes the rest of the day to get it all properly shaped and inserted and I finally flip it on. A low hum of the gears and a fan turning on its inside puts a smile on my face before I pat it and start placing the meat back inside.  
I slam the box shut, feeling accomplished and I sit there, back to the fire as I observe it fondly, taking a bite from the strip of now thoroughly cooked meat. My smile slowly fades as I ponder the day, and the events from earlier. I remember yesterday and seeing that figure leave the field after hearing a rabbit screech. This makes me recall earlier events, like when some usually prolific bushes stopped bearing as much as they were before rather suddenly, or rather were picked clean before I could even get to them. Or the time in early winter when the hounds had come, I had led a small group of them to the beefalo and the large prey animals made quick work of the monsters. Only to be back on my way to camp to be suddenly surrounded by even more! Usually they just attacked in one huge pack, I got a good chomp from one before I could make it to the beefalo. I wince and rub the side and under my thigh as I recall the memory. I click things together and make a conclusion, this person has been around but only recently, perhaps around the start of winter or end of autumn.  
I ponder the winter newcomer for a good long while, I decide it might be better to seek them out. They could be helpful, but then maybe they’re hostile? Or hostile now that I threatened them, or that just saved me from a fight as I got the drop on them before they could prepare. Their shriek was quite shrill, a girl maybe? Adolescent boy perhaps? Just someone with a high pitch and girly scream possibly? Regardless, if this person is now hostile or not I definitely didn’t make a very proper first impression and if they aren’t going to attack me they likely won’t stick around to see if I attack them. Standing up and wincing as the cold snow made my rump numb, I get ready for the night.   
“I should see if I come across any more signs of the person, maybe try to make contact, I’ll think of something in the morning.” I muse before laying down and turning to the sky, the fire slowly dies out as I flick my eyes over the stars before slowly closing them and getting some sleep.  
The next morning I fry up some more strips of beefalo before packing up my papyrus and tools and heading out to the rabbit field to work on the plans I had sketched out, I even bring a makeshift bow compass to sketch out some designs and finish mapping the field to get the right measurements for the idea I have in mind. Just as I reach the edge of the field I remember the encounter from last night, and the figure the night before. Curious, I carefully wade my way through the grass and over to the other side, and am surprised to find a far more rabbit hole filled patch. When I approach a few rabbits go scutting into their holes, but one. It thrashes around at the edge by the grass, partly obscured. When I get closer it thrashes more and squeals, tugging on what seems to be a slipknot twine tied together and surrounded by a few sticks. The loop looks like it was hiding in what in a small open path in the grass and this little rodent got itself ensnared trying to pass through. A few more once overs and I see quite a few traps, well hidden in the grass or just laying about here in there, it sure is a lot of dedication, or possibly desperation now that I think about it. It is possible that more and more traps were made as they failed to work, I’m tempted to take the rabbit for myself, it’s a passing thought but I dash it quickly. I know who made these traps, and taking the hare would be the opposite of what I wish to convey. So, instead, I take out my map and walk to the edge of the field before carefully sketching out what I can of the area. The size and border, the patches of rabbit grounds, the area this winter person has claimed as theirs with all the traps, pretty much every fine detail to know the area better.  
A particularly barren edge of the land catches my attention, it’s lush with grass and the soil is thick and fertile. I consider a pen and possibly setting it up so rabbits could live in and thrive with faux dens to keep tabs on them and their numbers, planting some more carrots to grow to encourage more breeding. Animal husbandry isn’t quite my forte but trial and error is my best bet out here, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt as now it’s just waiting till the ice thaws. I start making out the construction plans, laying out my small cloak to keep the papyrus dry as I walk from the spot back to the paper when making measurements. Later in the day, I was so intent on making the lines precise that I hadn’t even notice the sudden squeal of a rabbit farther off in the field, I did however feel perturbed when I stood up. Like a pair of eyes boring into me from behind, I spin on my heels quickly just to see grass shifting to part in the distance as a large animal seems to be rushing to the treeline. I flip down my goggles just as it burst from the grass and disappears into the forest. It’s the winter guest, they have the rabbit held firmly in their grip and the beefalo cloak is resting upon their shoulders once again. I feel a sliver of relief as they didn’t attempt an attack as I’m visibly unarmed, I also wonder if they read into my gesture of gathering their sticks and cloak up out of the snow as a sign of goodwill. Only time will tell and I have work to do, likely I’ll see them around here again, even if it’s fleeting. Maybe they'll warm up in time, enough to talk to me or not flee the moment I attempt to converse with them.  
The day stayed rather sunny and warm, no wind, no clouds, a nice day to be out and about and so I took advantage of it and started on this new project. I made a new axe, one for trees, and started chopping and gathering sticks. Anything necessary to make progress and for my work to be sturdy, I consider digging for clay but decided it would be far too cold for it to be worth the effort, I can reinforce it later if need be. For now I gather logs and trip them down into thin sturdy planks and twisting and carefully twisting grass into rope, I dig a semi deep foundation and dig the soil around it up till its soft before placing the planks in the soil and hammering it down with a heavy stone. With each one I secure them together with the rope as tightly as I can, insuring nothing can squeeze its way out and the wind won’t knock a side down. Wiping my brow I stand up after securing the third wall and giving it a few good shakes to make sure it's secure enough, I nod in approval when it stands firm and start to pack up for the night. As I’m gathering my tools my ears pick up a strange sound making me lift my head and look around, I sit silently for a good few minutes, hoping it's not the snarl of hounds. But when the strange sound, almost that of a groan, doesn’t meet my ears again I brush it off as a quake of a tree and sling my bag over my shoulder and head back to base.

I take a large slab of beef and slap it onto the hot rock next to the fire, while it sizzles and cooks I’m busy making more rope for the last wall of the rabbit stockade. In the spring I could plant some carrots in it perhaps, make it a home for the critters to reproduce. That would be a consistent means of food, and I then could find a way to do so for the beefalo if need be. Having two convenient sources of food would mean having to worry less on it and I can then focus more on my inventions! I have a few ideas already rolling about in my mind, ready to be properly structured and written out on paper. I flip the meat over. I’ll need more gears though, metal too in general. I could hunt down some of those clockwork creatures. If I do I’d need to be prepared, especially if it’s a rook, that behemoth could crush me flat if I'm not careful and precise. I could also go out searching for graves, the idea itself should be perturbing but I’ve found items in the clutches of the dead more useful to me, then to the deceased. If I find some useless nicknacks I could offer it to that porky Pig King for some spare gold, beats finding and breaking down rocks over the course of a few days. I flip the meat over again, just to be sure.  
The winter person could maybe be helpful with that though, I can bet they could gather. I’m much more attuned to the delicate work of machines anyways, and the more time I have with my ideas, the closer I get to possible freedom from this repetitive hell. I flip the steak off the rock and onto the snow a tad aggressively given my current thoughts, it puffs the powder up and starts to cool with a hiss. Just before I can reach out and pick it up to start eating a sudden tremor on the ground causes me to pause, another happens causing me to tense and slowly stand up. A gurgling groan roars out over the trees and just as I’m about to scramble out of camp I hear rapid footsteps and a bush by my camp practically erupts as a figure comes plowing out from it.

Right into me.

**Author's Note:**

> There's more already, I wanna see how this takes... Been pretty nervous to post this lol
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and lemme know if there's any mistakes I may have missed!


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